Against the background of the intensified scientific cooperation and exchange of best practise models among members the I.O.I. General Secretariat is pleased to offer all I.O.I. Members the opportunity of free of charge electronic access to the following publication: Kucsko-Stadlmayer, Gabriele (ed.): “European Ombusman-Institutions. A comparative legal analysis regarding the multifaceted realisation of an idea”, Springer Wien New York, 2008.

On 14 June, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, who investigates complaints about government bodies that have not been resolved elsewhere, has launched a public consultation on whether complainants should have direct access to her service. Currently, members of the public need a referral from a Member of Parliament (MP) in order to bring their complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

The Office of the Ombudsman, Thailand, is very pleased to inform the ombudsman community that former Chief Ombudsman of Thailand, General Teeradej Meepien, has recently been elected as the new President of the Senate of Thailand.

In the course of presenting his Annual Report 2010-2011 Ontario Ombudsman André Marin called on the government of Ontario to embrace the worldwide trend toward open government, noting that many of his investigations of government organizations revealed a lack of transparency and accountability to Ontarians.

On 9 June 2011 the Members of the National Assembly unanimously re-appointed Raymonde Saint-Germain Québec Ombudsperson for a second five-year term of office.

For years, the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) has been internationally active fostering the rule of law and supporting the ombudsman family. Among other projects it currently participates in the EU twinning project "Support to the Strengthening of the Serbian Ombudsman".

Polish Human Rights Defender, European I.O.I. Board Member and former Polish Ambassador to Austria Irena Lipowicz paid the I.O.I. General Secretariat an informal visit on 16 June 2011.

The majority of the Austrian population lacks knowledge and has prejudices when it comes to the issue of asylum. This is the main result of an UNHCR study that was presented in the premises of the Austrian Ombudsman Board on 14 June 2011.